It’s a single-entity world and we’re all just living in it

The 2018 MLS Cup playoffs are back from their mid-November break and MLS has played its single-entity card to get (it would seem) every club in the league to plug the Conference Finals.

There are four teams remaining in the playoffs, which means there are 19 teams that are not. But it would appear all 19 teams on the outside looking in at the Conference Finals have been tasked with plugging games in which they have no stake or rooting interest.

For those clubs whose brand identity includes some measure of self-respect, the requirement to plug some other teams’ games has been treated with the minimal courtesy it deserves.

Kudos to those teams that empowered their embattled social media managers to gently push back at the heavy hand of the MLS single entity.

Stop punishing your clubs, MLS. Let them plug what they want to plug when they want to plug it.